simple pleasures: la transparence

“I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom.”

— Simone de Beauvoir

simple pleasures: vaguer

“And the idea of just wandering off to a cafe with a notebook and writing and seeing where that takes me for a while is just bliss. ”

— J. K. Rowling

simple pleasures: réflexions

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

— Charles Dickens

i've crossed paths with this beautiful mirrored edifice many times, but i've never quite stopped to admire its beauty until recently. i love the reflection of haussmannian architecture + the ornate cathedral across the way: a lovely juxtaposition of diverse artforms in one place + space. 

simple pleasures: chicago heights

“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans. Aim high in hope and work. Remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.”

— Daniel H. Burnham

{simple pleasures} world of wonders: monde des merveilles

“A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight.”

— Robertson Davies

far from the simple geometry of downtown chicago's highrises wearing their mies van der rohe influence proudly like a royal cloak; and a mere two-hour train ride from the elegant cityscape offered up by haussmannian paris, lies the fine art nouveau architecture of victor horta + henry van de velde and the grandiose castles of yore in belgium. architecture from all genres, both secular + religous, is indeed just as enchanting by day as by night, at dawn or at dusk.